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Topic: I'm Not Sure There's a Way to Broach This (Read 9326 times)

I've posted before about the one person in my office who has hoarding tendencies. Many of us have had to go to the director, or he's brought it up to her himself, about the mess and odor coming from her office. She'll clean up (somewhat) and sooner or later it reverts to the same mess. Unfortunately, the mess does not affect her job performance so we can't get HR involved. Apparently you're allowed to be completely slovenly and it can't be mentioned on your performance review. Even housekeeping refuses to touch anything in her office.

Her office has a sour smell. It's nauseating if you have to spend any time in her office. The big problem now is that the odor is starting to cling to her clothing. Whenever she walks by I get a whiff of that sour smell. I'm not sure if this is something I can bring up to the director or not. Help!

Granted not all HR departments are the same, but as a former HR-er I can say this is absolutely an issue I could address. It's awkward, but we're trained to be tactful or should be. When hygiene issues permeate the work environment HR can step in and delicately handle it with the employee.

I'd be concerned that there may be mold or bacteria in her office that could be causing the smell, that could make others in the office ill. Further, do you have clients or others who come to your offices? It could be very bad if someone like that became ill due to exposure to something in this person's office space.

I think that I would consider going to HR and expressing these concerns. If you have a corporate attorney, you might also consider asking him/her if there could be a liability issue for the company - but ONLY if you can bring it up in the context of customers/clients/vendors.

Granted not all HR departments are the same, but as a former HR-er I can say this is absolutely an issue I could address. It's awkward, but we're trained to be tactful or should be. When hygiene issues permeate the work environment HR can step in and delicately handle it with the employee.

I'm curious, Tabby. Would you mind sharing a tactful way to address this sort of thing? I ask because years ago in my office (where the HR was half a state away) something very similar came up. Rather than getting HR involved, the Regional Director told my coworker's immediate supervisor (not known for her tact) to handle it. It did NOT go well at all. Making it even worse, her supervisor was also her neighbor.

Do you have an Occupational Health and Safety Dept? This type of thing would fit. I dont believe this is an HR issue because the state of her office is affecting the entire workplace and health of employees.

There could very well be mould in the office. I cannot believe her boss allowed this to get so out of hand.

Ooohhhh, gross. I'm sorry, I would no longer be tactfull. I'd be saying on a daily/weekly basis "coworker there is a strong odor coming from your office. Would you get rid of it." And I'd be encouraging my other co-workers to do the same.

I had an office along a short hallway with 6 offices. The hallway doors were required to stay closed and company policy was to keep your door open unless in a private meeting. One co-worker changed his diet which created a lot of flactulence. We were all long term coworkers so probably little more open with each other. I had no problem going to his open door spraying air fresher and another co worker eventfully hung on the wall by his office door one of those airfreshners that release a scent periodically or you can tap a button. After a month we were still ready to kick him off the hall until his wife threatened to kick him out of the house if he didnt switch his diet.

The thing is, office supplies and paper don't smell, however much you hoard them. Not in an office setting with decent climate control. She's got something in her office that's organic and rotting. Or there's a leak in her office and water is getting on some paper or something and making it rot.

Either way, I think there is cause for getting someone, HR or otherwise, involved here. It's not normal for offices to smell. There's something wrong. It needs to be fixed.

If her office was just messy and packed with "stuff," I'm not sure you would have grounds to do anything. But the smell indicates that there's a problem.

Hoarders do not notice the messes and smells (my former neighbor was a lovely lady, but she just had to be removed from her house and it was condemned ..it took a professional crew to get it inhabitable again) so having someone talk to her is not going to work. The company is going to have to step in and take drastic measures to get it cleaned up. I would talk to your supervisor, either by yourself, or as a group if others are complaining, and explain the health hazard that it is. There is probably a copious amount of mold growing in there which is extremely bad for breathing. If that doesn't work, keep going up the chain of command. Again, telling her to do it herself will not work. I bet her house is just the same, thus the fact that she smells too.

The thing is, office supplies and paper don't smell, however much you hoard them. Not in an office setting with decent climate control. She's got something in her office that's organic and rotting. Or there's a leak in her office and water is getting on some paper or something and making it rot.

Either way, I think there is cause for getting someone, HR or otherwise, involved here. It's not normal for offices to smell. There's something wrong. It needs to be fixed.

If her office was just messy and packed with "stuff," I'm not sure you would have grounds to do anything. But the smell indicates that there's a problem.

POD. Honestly, I'd be worried about the stench and mess attracting vermin like cockroaches and rodents. That might be enough to have HR talk to your coworker.

If I were not above a small untruth, I might tell someone I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw a mouse run into Hoarder's office. That might result in a move by Maintenance to get things under control.

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My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."